Themes I have been considering

Bringing online learning to the classroom

More and more schools are venturing into online learning so as to expand their choice of courses for students. Especially for rural and/or smaller schools, online courses help expand an otherwise limited selection of electives, advanced placement courses or foreign language courses that would not otherwise be economically feasible for the school.

There are some benefits to this model of schooling:

It offers students the opportunity to explore unusual interests and personal learning goals.

It allows students to take charge of their own learning.

It allows students to use various technological skills that will benefit them for years.

It allows students to access a greater repository of knowledge, information and resources than can be found in a traditional classroom.

It may help students achieve college credit in high school.

Overall, it helps build learning skills for more self-regulated, independent learning later in life.

I have learned that there are numerous online vendors who are ready to provide either stand-alone courses or complete curriculum series online. Smaller schools on a limited budget need to review student course requests and carefully consider staffing and scheduling when vendors are considered. There are some important questions to consider when consulting with vendors:

Is the course designed with the high school student in mind?

Is there a syllabus that can be previewed of the course?

Is the course semester- or year-long?

What is the availability of the virtual instructor?

To what extent will the on-campus facilitator/supervisor be required to assist in the teaching of the course? Is content knowledge assumed in this individual?

What type of assignment requirements will be required of the students?

Is there a final project?

Is there anyway for the school to track student progress in the particular course?

What monitoring tools are available for the on-campus teacher/facilitator/supervisor?

How will the student be graded in the course?

Can the course be used to fulfill the school’s graduation requirements?

Can college-level credit be awarded upon completion of the course?

Is there a voluntary withdrawal period without cost if the course is not what was expected?

Caruso (2008) recommends the following from a couple of hard lessons that were learned through her school’s own experience with online learning:

Schools are encouraged to develop a contract that outlines the financial responsibility for courses if they are dropped past a vendor’s voluntary drop date. Since withdrawing from a course after such a date usually entails some sort of financial commitment by the school, the contract specifies that the student and parent will agree to reimburse the school for the cost of the course. Such a contract should be signed by the student, parent, student advisor, and perhaps another teacher from the discipline area of the course, if possible.

Schools are encouraged to develop a policy for the use of class time on campus for any online classes. If a student prefers to work at home on an online course, how is the scheduled time on campus to be used?

Schools should determine if any grading responsibility for the course can be assigned to the on-campus facilitator who monitors the students while on campus. Should points for participation be included in the course grade?

Schools should establish a course completion policy and outline how students are to account for their time if they finish a course ahead of schedule. This acknowledges that some students work quickly, while others progress at a slower pace.

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